Mr. MACKENZIE (Vancouver):

That is the first information the committee has been given in regard to this matter. We have just dragged it out of the Minister of Railways who came into the room a few minutes ago. I asked the question of the Minister of Public Works about two hours ago. We have no information whatever about this item of railway grade crossings.

Mr. STEWART (Leeds):

I think my hon. friend wants to be fair.

Mr. MACKENZIE (Vancouver):

Yes.

Mr. STEWART (Leeds):

He suggested that we go into the schedule and I said that I had no objection whatever to doing so. Immediately the hon. member for Quebec South rose and engaged in a controversy with the Minister of Marine. This is the first question that has been asked.

Mr. MACKENZIE (Vancouver):

If the minister will pardon me, I have the floor. These works are under two or three or four ministers. The Minister of Marine is one; the Minister of the Interior is another; the Minister of Public Works is another, and the Minister of Railways and Canals is another. We do not know where we are at, and the country does not know where it is at. When I ask a question of the Minister of Public Works, somebody else has to reply. I asked him a question with regard to railway grade crossings and I receive an answer from the Minister of Railways. It is an insult to the

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committee, having regard to the fact that wc protested in a similar way last year, that we are asked to pass this bill without having all the information in connection with the items included in schedule A.

Let me ask the Minister of Public Works to compare schedule A of this bulk sales act which he brings before the committee in an endeavour to have us swallow it holus-bolus in a hurry, with schedule A of the act of last year, In the schedule of last year's act every single item of from $2,000 up was more or less itemized. It was itemized in two ways: first, in regard to the particular territory or the particular manner in which the work was to be carried out, and, second, in regard to the manner of the expenditure. Let us look at the schedule of the bill of this year. The first item is $1,000,000 for railway grade crossings. Then we come to the next one:

Geological surveys and investigations in the Northwest Territories and-

In the beneficent clarity of the administration:

-elsewhere in Canada.

Did anyone ever see a more studied insult to the intelligence of a committee of parliament than to ask us to pass an item amounting to SI,000.000 for geological surveys " elsewhere in Canada"? What is against the administration submitting this schedule to the bill-

Mr. STEWART (Leeds):

Let me answer.

Mr. MACKENZIE (Vancouver):

No, the hon. member may answer when I am through.

Mr. STEWART (Leeds):

I thought the

hon. member wanted information.

Mr. MACKENZIE (Vancouver):

The

minister has a great deal to answer for before he justifies this schedule. I want something more from the minister, and unless we get details of these items he will never get them through the way they are now. I for one object, because this is a studied insult to the intelligence of the committee.

The next item is:

Montreal harbour improvement and deepening, $3,500,000.

We are given no information in regard to the nature of the improvements that are to be carried out there. The Minister of Marine smiles; he probably had every single detail prepared weeks and months ago, prepared after consultations, after conferences, yes, perhaps with one of those wonderful engineers whose names were mentioned to-night in connection with the orders in council and

contracts which we had submitted to us. Yet, while my smiling friend the Minister of Marine has locked up in his heart this information in regard to the Montreal harbour improvement and deepening, the committee and parliament are asked to support this moribund administration in its desire to go home for six weeks, and further we are asked to swallow this schedule holus-bolus and to vote $3,000,000 without the slightest bit of information as to how the money is to be expended.

Let us proceed further down this iniquitous line. The next item is:

Quebec harbour improvements and maintenance, $1,250,000.

This is no doubt justifiable; I am not criticizing it, but has the Minister of Marine again been consulting clandestinely with one of his favourite engineers? Has he had this information locked up in his heart for weeks? Has he had any consultations about this item? Yet, if he has, he will not tell the committee the details of this proposed expenditure of $1,250,000 for harbour improvements and maintenance at Quebec.

Then we come back to canals, and I must leave the Minister of Marine and direct my observations to my genial friend the Minister of Railways and Canals, another member of the triune partnership we have here, without a single minister being responsible. As regards canals, repairs and improvements, we are left entirely without any information as to how this amount of $750,000 is to be expended.

Mr. MANION:

As long as my hon. friend continues speaking, we shall continue to be without information.

Mr. MACKENZIE (Vancouver):

The

Minister of Railways was not in his place two hours ago. He should be in his place.

Mr. MANION:

I have been in and out

of the house all evening waiting for the hon. member for Quebec South to cease crossquestioning the Minister of Marine.

Mr. MACKENZIE (Vancouver):

I have just been told that the minister was in and out. He is like the present government. He is in just now, but he will be. out very soon.

The next item is:

Western conservation works, $500,000.

Conservative works.

Mr. MACKENZIE (Vancouver):

Not Conservative works, conservation works. Is this under the Minister of the Interior?

Public Works Program

Mr. MURPHY:

Not the Minister of the Interior.

Mr. MANION:

The Minister of Agriculture.

Mr. MACKENZIE (Vancouver):

Where is the Minister of Agriculture? Where is the minister who is supposed to give the information? We have discovered a fifth minister, and the proper one is not here to answer for the estimates when they come before the committee.

Then we have a tunnel; the next item is:

Tunnel at west entrance Toronto harbour,

Where is the hon. member for East Toronto (Mr. Church) ? He is the only "minister" who can answer for this. Who is responsible for this item? Is it the Minister of Railways?

Mr. MANION:

No.

Mr. MACKENZIE (Vancouver):

The Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Marine?